


A Visit From The Lady Of Marado

by Benfrosh



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Gen, and you can't tell which one is which until too late, discussing the issues of legacy and rule, little tiny sandwiches, post-part 1 of RD, the worst part about the tiny sandwiches is when half of them are cucumber and half of them are ham
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 04:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7830574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fiona has come to petition the new King of Daein.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Visit From The Lady Of Marado

"The next petitioner may enter," King Pelleas said wearily, exhaustion evident in his voice. One of the royal guards scrambled to the lobby to find who was next in line. _Poor Pelleas_ , Micaiah thought to herself. _The stress of the crown must be getting to him._ She and Pelleas had been answering petitions here in the throne room all day, and it seemed there was no end yet in sight. Even as they had won the war of liberation, Micaiah worried if Daein had the resources to survive the victory. But there was one thing she could place her trust in - that Daein had the will to see it through.

Finally, the guard returned, with a familiar face in tow. "Lady Fiona!" Pelleas exclaimed. "It does our heart good to see you well," he continued as Fiona knelt before the throne. "Please stand, Lady Fiona. You have served us in our hour of need, and you are an equal here."

Fiona obligingly rose. "Thank you, your majesty. Your largesse knows no bounds."

"Tell us, what brings you here today before the court?"

"The reconstruction of Marado is what concerns me today, Your Majesty." From a bag on her side, she pulled out a letter which she handed to a nearby guard, who carred it over to Pelleas. As Pelleas read, she continued, "This letter summarizes the details of our current progress, but most notably it has the itemized request for additional funds to restore the forts on the borders. The occupation force did more damage than expected when retreating, and..."

Pelleas handed the letter back to the guardsman. "Is that all? For your loyal service, we would give Marado ten times more to see it restored to glory. We shall organize the funds and send them back with you on the morrow."

To Micaiah, it almost looked as if Fiona would start crying for half a second. Whatever she saw, however, Fiona quickly composed herself and nodded. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your kindness does us great honor."

"Lady Micaiah," Pelleas said, turning to look at Micaiah by the side of the throne. "Do you want to go relax with Lady Fiona for some time? We've been here ages, you must be tired."

Micaiah, surprised, shook her head. "Your Majesty, I couldn't-"

"Don't be silly, Micaiah. You've been standing upright for six marks now, and Lady Fiona's come all this way." He turned back to Fiona, still standing at attention. "You'd like to have lunch with Micaiah, right? It's been ages since either of us have last seen you."

Fiona gulped. "It would do Marado a great honor to-"

"Oh, forget the honor. Do you want to or not?"

Fiona took a deep breath. "I'd enjoy having the time to chat with Micaiah once more, yes. Is that okay with you, Lady Micaiah?"

Micaiah turned to look at Pelleas, trying her best to ascertain his mental state.

"I'll be fine, Micaiah," he countered with a tired smile. "Have to learn how to be King on my own someday, anyway."

Micaiah nodded. "I believe in you, King Pelleas. Now then, Lady Fiona," Micaiah said, stepping down from the dais. "let's find somewhere we can sit and relax, shall we?"

Fiona nodded. "Lead the way, Lady Micaiah."

The two exited the throne room as Pelleas called once more for the next petitioner.

\---

"I won't lie, Micaiah," Fiona said with a sigh of relief. "I'm really thankful to have this opportunity to talk with you one-on-one too."

The two had found a small tea room and had asked one of the servants to bring small sandwiches, which they were now nibbling on. "I'm rather thankful for the break, myself," Micaiah replied. For her, it was quite the nice change of pace from the hectic and stressful day so far. "Of course, I'm happy to spend more time with you, Lady Fiona. We haven't seen each other once since the end of the war of liberation, have we?"

Fiona shook her head. "I even had to miss the coronation due to a flood requiring my full attention back in Marado."

Micaiah gasped. "Is everyone okay? I hadn't even heard-"

Fiona waved her hand dismissively. "No one was hurt, thank the Goddess, but it was a major blockage for supplies, and it required my personal attention to get everything sorted out. And my troubles are nothing compared to that which King Pelleas is dealing with every day, anyways."

"You really are a capable leader, Lady Fiona," Micaiah said with a smile. "Marado must be proud to have you."

Fiona frowned, and put down the small ham sandwich she was about to eat. "Are they, though?"

Micaiah shook her head. "I'm sorry?"

"It's just... I'm not the ruler my father was. He was legendary, Micaiah. Do you know what it feels like to try to fill the shoes of one of the Four Riders? He was strong, noble, kind, fair, intelligent, just... he was an amazing leader, and I'm," Fiona sighed, "I'm a nothing."

"That's not true at all, Fiona," Micaiah said as she reached out to hold Fiona's hand supportively. "Don't all the knights respect you as their Lady?"

Fiona shook her head. "They don't respect me. They just see my father when they look at me. I'm barely even a knight in training, how can any of them take me seriously?"

"What do you mean by that? You look the very model of a knight to me."

Fiona scoffed. "Thanks, but I know my strengths. I can barely fight, Micaiah. Any of the Marado Knights could take me in a duel, let alone leading the charge in battle."

Micaiah paused in thought. "Do you know your strengths, Fiona?"

"Sure I do," Fiona replied sardonically. "I have none."

"That's a lie. You have the strengths that matters in a ruler - you love your people, and you want to be better for them. That willpower is the only thing that matters in the end. And your people love you; they wouldn't just mindlessly follow any of Lanvega's children."

Fiona paused. "Really?" she asked doubtfully, but her earlier frown was starting to lift.

Micaiah nodded. "You said they see your father when they look at you. That's not for nothing. That's because in you, they see the potential to be the leader Lanvega was. They want to support you, and get you there, because they know his spirit is within you."

Fiona took a deep breath. "Thanks, Lady Micaiah. I hadn't thought of it that way."

Micaiah smiled. "Hopefully that can help you a little."

"Honestly, I think it helped a lot. But we'll see how I feel tomorrow," Fiona added with a laugh as she took another sandwich. "Thanks, though. Really."

"No problem, Lady Fiona." Micaiah also resumed eating, fishing around for a cucumber sandwich she could've sworn she saw earlier.

"It's no wonder King Pelleas relies on you so much. You're very supportive."

"Well," Micaiah said as she peeled back some bread to check the filling of one of the sandwiches, "I just do what I can, every day."

"Would that we all tried for that," Fiona added with a sigh.

**Author's Note:**

> It's a real goshdarn tragedy that Fiona doesn't have character development or, well, a character at all in RD. This is my good faith effort to try to at least establish a baseline personality and internal conflict.


End file.
